My butt cheek is burning as I lower myself onto the cushion Nana has put out for me, the wicked woman not hiding her chuckles at my misfortune when Harlow describes what happened. How could something so cute and sweet be so damn vicious?I swear I’ve been bitten by a velociraptor and not a mini pony.Leaning to one side to take the pressure off the bruised cheek, I remember the heat in Harlow’s eyes as I dropped my pants, showing she’s not as indifferent as she pretends to be. I still have some hope.Though the question still is, how does one apologize for what we’ve done?
Suddenly, she appears in my view, holding out an ice pack. She has that aloof neutral look on her face, like she doesn't care, but she went and got me an ice pack, and those aren’t the actions of someone who doesn't give a shit. I try to grab her hand, wanting to show her how sorry I am with my eyes, but she ignores me and pulls away, dropping the ice pack in my lap. Fuck, now my dick hurts too, but I won’t give her the satisfaction of letting anyone know.Probably should start with saying the words first, goddamnit.
Dinner finishes up very quickly with Nana wrapping me a plate of food for when I feel like eating, but I think I’ll be hobbling for a few days, and right now, I’d rather take a painkiller or two. I guess it serves me right. I’d gone out there with the intention of blasting her about the car even though I knew Dad had given her the keys and permission, but I just needed to see her, and it was a perfect excuse. I hadn't expected her to be so cold. I wanted to see the understanding, feisty girl I know is in there, the one who kissed me back so thoroughly at the studio that day. I’ve been thinking about that day over and over again, especially in the shower, reliving the way she made my heart race and my cock rock hard.
I feel so bad that I didn't stop Jacinta's plan. Unlike Kai, I knew what she was going to do, but I let it happen, and I think Harlow realizes that. No, the fact that she didn’t warn me about the demonic mini with a taste for ass means shedefinitelyrealizes that. If she never forgives me, I won’t be surprised. But damn it, I haven't been this interested in a woman in years. I learned in high school that girls would say what they thought you wanted to hear instead of being real, but I get the feeling that there is nothing fake about Harlow. By the time I tried to stop Jacinta, it was too late, and now I’ve ruined whatever we could have been.
“Oliver!” Jacinta snaps, dragging my attention back to the room. Looking around, I see that it’s just my brothers and sister left, and they’re all standing around me.
“Come on, let’s go outside.” Holden waves his hand, showing me the joint he’s holding, and Thomas holds up a couple of beers.
“This will help with the pain.” He laughs, and the others join in... except Jacinta. She still looks furious. God, her pettiness is really beginning to piss me off. I'm so sick and tired of dealing with the fallout from her insecurities. All of us are, even Jaxon who has infinitely more patience with her out of misplaced guilt.
When we're all situated outside, a cushion still under one of my butt cheeks, I take the offered beer from Thomas and drink down half of it. This little sibling ritual started many years ago when we were all in high school and realized that bottling everything up inside was neither healthy or helpful. We started doing this once or twice a month, using each other as sounding boards for all the drama in our lives.
We sit there, chilling, Kai telling us about how his extreme team is about to retire and the scouting process for new athletes. "I think I want a summer and a winter team this time round. And not just all guys. I need to scout some girls, bring them into the mix. Seriously, girls are fifty percent our demographic too, and I mean, who doesn't like a woman who’s into extreme sports?” His eyes move to the parental wing of the house where I know Harlow is presently tucked into bed.
I hold in the sigh that wants to be set free. I’m sure once she gets past her anger, which I deserve, I can tease out that interest she showed at Neighpalm Ink. If she rejects me even after I find a way to make amends, then I don’t know what I’ll do. My stomach lurches at the thought, and I shudder. I can’t go through that again. I haven’t taken a chance on too many people in my life, and the last time I thought I had something worth keeping, it ended in me being tossed aside. Despite being for “good reasons,” the rejection just made me incredibly reluctant to try and create something worth keeping again.And now’s not the time forthathorrible trip down memory lane, my heart scolds. Knowing it’s right, I shove those feelings back and check in with what my brothers are saying.
“I agree. It was stupid not to have a few women on your teams; it’s limiting yourselves.” Thomas nods, his slight Irish accent coming out now that he’s a few beers in. It’s not often we hear his accent anymore. It was strong when he first came to us, but he deliberately made an effort to sound more American. It’s sad, really, but it was one of those things he was teased about as a child. No matter how much we all told him it didn't matter, he went through a period of time where he didn't talk much at all, especially in public. He became known as the strong silent one, and fuck, the girls went crazy trying to draw him out. After his ex fucked him over, what had become a role he played to keep people at arm’s length actually reverted back to his original insecure self.
“We’ve been going about this all wrong,” Jacinta says suddenly, completely off-topic. In the silence that follows, Holden hands me the joint, his hand brushing against mine. A spark of familiarity hits me, but I push that feeling down and lock it away again. No need to tempt fate or put myself through any extra heartache. I take a deep drag, holding it before blowing it back out and letting that relaxed feeling wash over me. The pain dulls, and the guilt in my mind seems to wash away.
“What do you mean?” I ask her, passing the joint to Kai. The big guy’s frowning at Jacinta, a furrow to his brow like he’s already unhappy with whatever’s going to come out of her mouth.
“Are you talking about Harlow? Still? For fuck's sake, Jacinta, haven't you done enough damage? I’ve never seen Dad so angry at us,” Kai growls at her, and he’s not wrong either. “You’ve basically lost your business as punishment. Do you want to make that permanent? To drag the rest of us down with you?”
“Exactly! It’s her fault that happened in the first place,” she hisses, waving the joint away when it’s offered to her.God, she needs to relax. Wish she would’ve taken it.
“Yeah, I’m not sure that's right, sis. That’s all on you. Had you not been trying to get rid of her, none of it would have happened.” Thomas’ statement has my eyebrows raising, and I’m not about to jump in the middle of this now. He and Holden have been fairly indifferent the whole time, neither committing to either Team Harlow or Team Jacinta, which was actually kind of unusual. They’re usually happy to let Jacinta do whatever she wants, and even if they don’t get actively involved, they never get in her way. It looks like he’s finally picking a side, and Jacinta is furious.
My sister might have her polished veneer down flat, that cold but beautiful mask that makes her the perfect face of Neighpalm Couture, but that’s nowhere to be seen now. As her brothers, we’ve always been both blessed and sometimes cursed to have complete access to the authentic, unfiltered Jacinta.
“I don’t care either way.” Holden’s eyes are slitted and his words mellow as he lights up another joint he’s pulled from the stash in his pocket. Holden does like his recreational drugs. Before he was responsible for Neighpalm Records, he went off the rails for a while, though he tends to stick to just weed these days. “Work is kicking my ass, and I just have no time to indulge you in your games, Jacinta. I think we need to give her the benefit of the doubt at this point. So far, she's done nothing but let a mini take a bite out of Oliver’s ass.”
Jacinta screams quietly, but then her eyebrows rise and a smile crosses her lips. “Well, sure, okay, that might work with my plan anyway. I think the problem is that she was expecting us to be hostile from the start. Her guard was probably up before she finished freeloading off Dad’s plane service. What we need to be doing is earning her trust and friendship and then smashing it. Then she’ll know not to mess with the Summers family.”
My stomach drops at her words, and I can see Kai is shaking his head. “Fuck no, you leave me out of it. I like her, and until she does something that proves she is what you accuse her of, I’m going to do my hardest to make friends with her. For real, Jacinta. I’m not going to be part of this, and I’d appreciate you not trying to use me to strike back at her.”
Declan and Jaxon have been very quiet through the whole conversation, but after getting the same kind of response from Thomas and Holden as Kai gave, she turns to them.
“Well? Are you in or out?” Her eyes narrow on her brother. Poor guy doesn't stand a chance; he’s always allowed his sister to walk all over him. It’s a guilt thing left over from their abysmal childhood.
He gives her a small nod, but I can see in his eyes he’s not so sure about it.
“And you?” She turns to Declan, eyebrow raised and eyes already glinting with challenge. “She’s basically stolen your cat.” She throws the words at him, but I have my suspicions about that. He's always been a huge softy regarding his cats, and if he thought Princess was more comfortable in Harlow's room and wanted to be there, I don't doubt that he’d let her in there. That cat is the one woman in his life that he’ll bend over backward for, even if it irritates him to no end that she’s choosing a stranger over him.
But instead of telling Jacinta this, he nods his head. “Yes, we need to get rid of her. I'll call my PI next time I'm in the office; god knows the man asks for enough money that we should’ve hadsomethingby now. I don't want to do it from here in case Dad overhears,” he tells her, but that just seems like a cop out to me. It’s not like there aren’t places Dad wouldn't hear him. I don't think Jaxon and Declan are as indifferent or as disgusted by Harlow as Jacinta thinks they are. Jaxon already admitted to having a connection with her when they met that time in the club. I can certainly see what attracted him to her in the first place, and it’s not only her looks. She’s funny and interesting, someone I wouldn't mind getting to know better. I’m not even jealous that my brother is interested in her either. Nana’s suggestion about sharing her is appealing to me more and more. I mean, what are the odds that we would each find a partner that got along with everyone? Plus, with our collective total of horrible relationship experience, having more than one of us with her would give Harlow someone to rely on when the others had fucked up again.
Shifting, the pain in my ass making me wince, distracting everyone. They laugh at my misfortune, but it’s not enough to distract Jacinta and she turns on me. “What about you? You in or out?”
“I’m out. I like her and want to get to know her better, though I’m pretty sure I screwed that up already. I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to her. Leave her alone, Jacinta, and worry about getting your own shit together. From what I can see, you're doing a good job of blowing it up without any help from her at all. What are you so afraid of? It can’t be just because you think she’s after our money. There’s got to be a deeper reason for you to be acting so extreme. No one in the past has caused you to go off the deep end like this. You need to think about the answers to those questions. You’re my sister, and I love you....”
I get to my feet, the beer and the weed making the pain more bearable. “But don't come crying to me if you screw things so badly that Dad never forgives you.”
With that parting remark, I hobble to my room wishing that I was hobbling to Harlow’s instead.
* * *
